


Maternal Love

by fragilecapricornpanic



Series: PRE-WRITTEN, Pre-Canon Sibling Encounters [47]
Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Ben Hargreeves Deserves Better, Ben Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Bittersweet, Canon Compliant, Diego Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Diego Hargreeves is Bad at Feelings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Extra-Ordinary: My Life as Number Seven, Feels, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Mush, Gen, Good Parent Grace Hargreeves, Humor, Hurt No Comfort, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, Klaus Hargreeves Needs A Hug, Klaus Hargreeves Needs Help, No Incest, No Slash, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Pre-Canon, Sibling Bonding, Soft Diego Hargreeves, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:48:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26241424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fragilecapricornpanic/pseuds/fragilecapricornpanic
Summary: Diego is in a state of disbelief as he hears of Luther’s mission to the moon. He realises that without Luther home, no one is stopping him from visiting his mom anymore. He accidentally on purpose tracks Klaus down so he can have someone to vent to about Luther. He (and Ben) come along to visit Grace, and have some long overdue bonding with their mom.
Relationships: Ben Hargreeves & Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Ben Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Grace Hargreeves, Diego Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves, Grace Hargreeves & Klaus Hargreeves
Series: PRE-WRITTEN, Pre-Canon Sibling Encounters [47]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1869709
Comments: 6
Kudos: 82





	Maternal Love

**Author's Note:**

> For context in this series Luther and Reginald banned Diego from visiting after he moved out. See end notes for more info.

“The _moon_?!” Diego incredulously exclaimed to himself as he heard the news bulletin on his shitty radio. He couldn’t have heard that right, that was wacky even for dad. He stormed over to the radio, turning the volume up and trying to tune out the static. 

“ _-believed take-off will be at 5am tomorrow, Eastern Standard Time. Stay with us for upd-“_ Diego shut the radio off, flopping down to his uncomfortable couch in disbelief. “The moon?” the uttered to himself, unable to keep his thoughts in his mind. He needed to rant to someone about this, but depressingly he had no one. Eudora had left him, Luther was the asshole who was going in the first place, Allison was busy pretending she had no family, Klaus had fallen off the face of the earth, Five had been missing longer than he’d ever been there to begin with, Ben was dead, and Vanya was dead to him. He knew he could complain to his mom as much as he liked, but those assholes had banned him from visiting years ago. Except... if Luther wasn’t going to be there from tomorrow, no one could stop him. What was dad gonna do, throw a monocle at him?

_**—Tomorrow—** _

Diego was just taking the scenic route, it was purely a coincidence that he was driving through the shitholes Klaus tended to spend time in. It was just the best way to beat the traffic, that was all. Diego hadn’t seen him in longer than he felt comfortable with, considering Klaus was arguably the worst mess of the whole family. He was even more of a fuck up than _Vanya_. Diego ground his teeth and turned up the car radio, he didn’t want to think of his former sister. Maybe Klaus was just locked up somewhere, that wouldn’t be so unlikely. It didn’t matter anyway, because that wasn’t why he was in this neighborhood. Even with his car doors locked, Diego felt like some scumbag was gonna try and mug him. Not that they’d have much success, he currently had eight knives strapped to him.

Watching the rundown cars drive by was a decent enough distraction from the miserable reality of Klaus’ life. Ben would still rather be here than gone. “Is that Diego?!” Ben asked like an excitable puppy. They hadn’t seen Diego in a while, Ben missed him. He’d grown rather concerned about him after they’d found out he was living in the boiler room of a gym...

“Why the hell would Diego be here?” Klaus wheezed, not even bothering to look up from lighting his cigarette. Unless Diego was suddenly a junkie or had a secret thing for prostitutes, Klaus was pretty sure he wouldn’t be here. He kept the vigilante shit to the nighttime. “Really racist of you to just think every Hispanic guy is Diego...” Klaus teased just to get a rise from his brother, though when he looked up - he groaned. It _was_ Diego. Great. 

Gesturing with his head for his brother to get up from the stoop to come over to the car, Diego already regretted seeking him out. He cranked down the window fully, which took almost a comically long amount of time. “What?!” Klaus groaned, leaning against the car door and breathing disgusting smoke through the window. Diego narrowed his eyes at his brother, already wanting to slap him. Klaus rolled his eyes petulantly and took his cigarette from his mouth and placed it in his hand by his side instead. 

“You hear about Luther?” Diego grunted, judging himself for driving all the way around here just to gossip. Was he a sixty year old lady in a bingo hall? Klaus lazily rubbed at his eyes, seeming incredibly uninterested in this discussion.

He assumed Luther hadn’t died since he’d made no appearance, _thankfully_. Klaus would probably learn to banish spirits if he got stuck with him. “He didn’t write a book did he?” Klaus drawled, shuffling away slightly to take a drag and then blow it in the opposite direction from Diego. He blew it through Ben instead. That never got old for Klaus. Ben glared at him, always hating the feeling smoke passing through him caused. Apparently it made him feel _fluffy_ , whatever the hell that meant. Klaus really couldn’t deal with another one of his shitty siblings deciding to air their dirty laundry. He was still recovering from the downward spiral Vanya’s memoir caused.

A scoff escaped Diego as a sly grin crossed his face. “Nah... he can’t write.” he quipped pettily. Diego knew Luther was pretty good in English class, he just felt like being a dick. He was bitter, so what? Klaus giggled, looking away to his left. Diego assumed he was smirking at whoever he’d hallucinated he was chatting to when Diego had pulled up. “Wanna see mom?” Diego mumbled, the words coming out of his mouth before he’d had the good sense to stop them. Klaus’ eyes lit up, instantly discarding of his cigarette and yanking on the door handle to get in the back. Diego reluctantly unlocked the doors and his brother slumped in, rubbing his hands happily.

—

Pogo pulled the grand front door open, looking significantly aged since the last time Diego had seen him. “Master Diego...” he muttered apprehensively, though a small smirk was visible on his face. “...Master Klaus...” he continued as his vision fell on Klaus, though this time he sounded massively apprehensive - and his smile had fallen to a frown. Klaus curtsied, like the idiot he was. Diego nudged him in the side, causing his brother to wobble and skid momentarily.

”Bastard.” Klaus grumbled under his breath, intending on elbowing Diego right back but stopping when he saw the scowl on his living brother’s face. Right. They had things to do. “Master Pogo!” Klaus greeted, mimicking the chimp’s accent. He threw his arms out for a welcoming hug. Pogo frowned deeper and opened and closed his mouth like a fish. The _audacity_ , Klaus thought.

The fucking idiot was going to get Pogo calling the cops before they’d even stepped over the threshold. “Ignore him.” Diego grunted, shoving his brother’s arms back down to his sides - causing him to pout stupidly. “Can we see mom?” he gently suggested, looking down at Pogo with piteously pleading eyes. He was so goddamn close, it was killing him to know his mom was right there within those walls.

After taking a moment to look down to his bare chimp feet in consideration, Pogo flicked his vision back up to Diego. Neglecting to glance at Klaus for obvious reasons. “Very well.” he muttered quietly, seeming rather ashamed to be going against his master’s demands. Ben was shocked, he’d been expecting things to go haywire and for chaos to break out. He supposed there was still time. Klaus barged through the door, almost knocking Pogo from his feet without realising. Ben was continuously irritated by his brother’s rudeness. Diego awkwardly looked Pogo up and down, offering a tight-lipped smile as he shuffled through the door. “She’s in the main kitchen.” Pogo called out to the boys as they gawped at the interior of their former home.

It hadn’t changed a great deal, it was just disorientating to be back, Diego felt. Klaus turned on his heel and made his way towards the opposite direction before Diego threw out his hand and grabbed him by the elbow. “No stealing.” he grunted as he dragged his disappointed brother towards the location of their mom.

”Why?!” Klaus moaned, feeling irritated by his brother’s distrust - even though he was perfectly correct in his assumptions. Klaus had came here specifically to steal, but it _would_ be nice to see their mom whilst he was here. “You hate the asshole anyway, what does it matter if I steal from him?” he huffed. His brother tilted his head in thought, seeming to be mulling over the valid point Klaus just made. Klaus bit his lip to hold back an excited grin.

That _was_ true, and his brother was going to get drug money from somewhere anyway... it was probably safer to get it from here. “Fine. Just make sure Pogo doesn’t catch you.” muttered, checking over his shoulder that the chimp wasn’t following them. If Klaus got caught, Diego could kiss goodbye to visiting his mom again. Dad would probably just hire a security guard or something, Pogo would inevitably snitch.

—

It was extremely tempting to just never let go from his mom’s embrace. It was hard for Diego to stop himself from getting too emotional. He buried his face in the fabric of the shoulder of his mom’s dress, to try and hide his expression from Klaus. It would be humiliating, Klaus would without a doubt tease him for being such a mommy’s boy. She smelled the same, like freshly washed linen and roses. Reluctantly, Diego pulled back, still holding on to his mom’s elbows. She was just as beautiful as the last time he saw her, staring back at him with maternal love. “I missed you.” Diego murmured, hoping his voice didn’t portray how choked up he felt.

”Me too!” Klaus exclaimed, enveloping them into a group hug. Diego shot backwards, whacking his brother’s arm from him. “You’ve ruined a very wholesome family moment.” Klaus mock sobbed as he leaned in to hug his mom. He’d never been as attached to his mom as Diego had, but it was nice to see her anyway. He could just never shake the knowledge that she was a robot; she was kind and loving, but only because she was programmed to be. Klaus would take it though, he didn’t get it from anyone else and he probably never would. “I love your dress.” he mumbled dozily, pinching at the baby pink fabric on her back.

Grace pulled back from her son, scanning his face with a grin. “You look like you could do with some food.” she exclaimed, pinching his cheek playfully. He beamed back at her, though he appeared to be half asleep. This was unusual as it was eleven AM, thirty-seven minutes, and forty-one seconds. “Let’s make you some tea.” she suggested kindly, gently coming away from his grip and waltzing towards their stovetop kettle. Caffeine would be helpful, but their father disagreed with coffee. Tea would suffice. “Uh... no thanks.” Klaus responded, grimacing slightly. Grace furrowed her brow, though her smile didn’t waver. “I’ll take the food though!” her son widened his eyes excitedly. Grace paused the lifting of the kettle, and nodded happily. She would make her boys some pancakes. They always used to beg for pancakes on their half hour of recreational time.

—

Diego watched on in repulsion as his brother shovelled his pancakes into his mouth, barely even bothering to chew. Diego glanced down to his own plate, his fork still in his hand. He’d only taken three bites. When the hell did Klaus last eat, Diego wondered. Deciding to address that concern at a later date, Diego cleared his throat. “These are wonderful, mom.” he announced, smiling peacefully. His brother made a grunt of agreement from his side.

Grace had missed her son, the mansion felt so empty without her children. Now that Luther was gone too... “Not as wonderful as you!” she remarked, ruffling Diego’s hair from where she had sauntered to his side. He appeared to have something on his mind, based on his expression and demeanour. Grace noted he had six visible new scars since they last met.

”Wh’t a‘out me?!” Klaus yelped, barely intelligible through his mouthful of blueberry pancakes. “Don’t talk with your mouth full, dear.” Grace gently scolded, she knew how much Reginald disapproved of such a thing. Her son sheepishly closed his mouth and nodded in response. “You too, of course.” she proclaimed, patting his hand lovingly. Grace smiled absentmindedly as she scanned her son’s appearance. Now she was unoccupied, her programming was flagging an issue. She had been trained to notice these signs when her son was aged ten years, two months, and sixteen days. Grace wasn’t certain what to do about this information since her son no longer lived in the academy, nor was their father even home. She rubbed his shoulder supportively, unsure how to proceed. He was not currently in need of medical attention, and he was enjoying his pancakes - so she decided to proceed as usual.

”How have things been, sweetie?” Diego’s mom addressed him as she elegantly slipped into the seat opposite his own. How had things been? Diego couldn’t exactly tell his mom things had been an _unbelievably fucking terrible heap of shit._ He grinned instead, hoping his happiness looked convincing. “Great.” he lied, cutting off a piece of pancake with the side of his fork. “Real happy.” he stated, sounding bitter to even his own ears. He shoved his forkful into his mouth, hoping that would give him some time without questioning. His mom lovingly flitted her vision across his face, looking slightly concerned. Of course she would be, she knows him better than anyone. Better than he even knew himself. “How you doing, mom?” he softly inquired - after finishing his chewing since he wasn’t fucking gross like _somebody_.

”I’m marvellous... I’m feeling so proud of your brother of course.” she grinned, showcasing all her gloriously white teeth. Diego tried to hold back his scowl, he didn’t want to upset his mom. Luther was her son too, unfortunately. He nodded, taking a sip of his milk so he didn’t have to talk about that asshole and his stupid mission.

”Come on!” Klaus exasperatedly moaned under his breath. Ben could literally phase through walls, he could wander all over the house. He could wander into the goddamn Whitehouse if he wanted to. Why the hell wouldn’t he help Klaus sneak through the mansion?!

“No.” Ben sternly replied “You can do it yourself.” he crossed his arms grumpily. Was he still mad that Klaus made him feel _fluffy_ earlier, Klaus wondered. “Is this because I made you fluffy?” Klaus hissed, attempting to cover his mouth with his hand. His mom and brother were distracted chatting, but he didn’t really want to deal with them thinking he was a lunatic.

Ben rolled his eyes, fed up with his brother’s idiocy. “I’m not helping you score.” he grumbled, struggling to believe that they were still having this argument after all these years together. He’d assisted Klaus in his chaos more than enough times - he wanted to be near to his mom. “They’re staring at you, by the way.” he pointed out, raising an amused eyebrow.

Giggling was the best course of action, Klaus believed. He nervously turned back to his brother and mom, smiling shiftily. “Just... thinking out loud.” he drawled, wincing at how terrible his own lie was. This was Ben’s fault, really. Though he couldn’t blame his mumbling on a ghost they refused to believe exists. Klaus frustratedly threw his fork through Ben when he started to chuckle at his predicament. Prick.

—

”You will come back, won’t you?” mom wondered, gripping onto Diego’s hands. He didn’t want to go, it hurt to leave her trapped in this place. He knew he couldn’t stay much longer, lest he run the risk of dad coming home and finding them. Truthfully, Diego wasn’t sure if he could come back. It was impossible to know if Pogo would allow this to be a regular thing, or if he was merely taking pity on Diego for the day. He’d do whatever he had to to make sure he didn’t lose his mom again. The grief hurt so much more when he knew she was right here, simply out of reach. “Of course.” Diego affirmed, nodding his head dispiritedly. His mom wiped a tear from his eye before it had even fell, he offered a glum grin as a thanks. It genuine to god, physically hurt to know he had to drive away uncertain if he’d ever be able to come back. “I love you.” he whispered, trying desperately not to stutter. His mom gleamed affectionately at him. “I love you too, sweetie.” she cooed.

”Let’s go before he throws a banana at me!” Klaus giggled as he rushed down the stairs, almost falling down them and rebreaking his jaw. ” _Not cool_.” Ben gruffly nagged from where he was leaning against the bannister. Klaus assumed he was just sensitive to the animal humor because of the whole... _tentacles_ thing. “Traitor.” Klaus whispered to his dead brother as he brushed past him on the stairs - still mad that he had refused to be his lookout. Klaus couldn’t even see Ben anymore, but he could sense he had rolled his eyes. Maybe that was part of his shitty power, too.

Not even wanting to get into discourse around Pogo not being a monkey, Diego squeezed his mom’s hands and reluctantly let go. He didn’t want to let her go. He bit down on his cheek to try and stop himself from getting emotional like some baby. Diego grabbed his brother by the shirt as he flounced towards the front door. “The back.” he instructed, steering Klaus around “Incase dad comes home.” It would just be their luck for that asshole to come home the second they opened the door. Diego couldn’t bring himself to glance over his shoulder at his mom, he was scared he’d never be able to bring himself to leave without her.

—

Diego pulled over to the disgusting place Klaus was apparently staying at, and unlocked the doors. His brother sighed exhaustedly and dragged himself from the seat he’d been practically lying down in. Diego watched from the wing mirror as he emerged from the car and stumbled over to the driver’s side door. Klaus tapped on the window like an irritating child. “What?” Diego grunted as he cranked the window down a smidge. He was too emotional to deal with his brother’s nonsense. Diego wasn’t even sure why he bothered asking what he wanted, he knew the answer would be money.

His brother reached into his pocket and rummaged around for a while as though it were Mary Poppin’s bag. Klaus made a gasp of recognition and pulled out a condom, before frowning and hastily shoving it back into his jacket. Diego had to stop himself from gagging, he didn’t want that image in his mind. “Here!” Klaus excitedly squeaked as he shoved his shaky hand out towards Diego. Everything in Diego’s intuition was telling him not to look down into his brother’s hand. He dreaded to imagine what it held. Klaus wiggled his head, growing irritated that his brother wouldn’t play along. Bracing himself for the worst, Diego finally looked down.

”M-mom’s necklace?” he spluttered in almost a whisper, too curious to take his eyes from the necklace to see his brother’s giddy nodding.

”Take it!” Klaus exclaimed, poking his hand towards the gap in the window. “She won’t mind, she had a shit tonne.” he explained persuasively as Diego gently grabbed the necklace from where it dangled through the window.

”Thanks...” he muttered, still too transfixed to glance upwards. Diego remembered this necklace from when they were kids, mom used to wear it every Tuesday. He remembered specifically because he would notice it as he cuddled into her after his weekly individual training.

The stench of smoke broke Diego from his trance, shooting his brother a glare before letting it melt as he remembered how grateful he felt. “I gotta go.” Klaus mumbled, longingly looking off into a nearby alley. He had a sheen of sweat across him that didn’t match the weather.

”Thanks.” Diego called again to his brother as he staggered away. Klaus flashed him **GOODBYE** over his shoulder. Diego shook his head with a soft chuckle, those tattoos were so goddamn stupid.

**Author's Note:**

> Parts of this series that give context in regards to Diego visiting grace. 
> 
> Mommy’s Boy Vs. Daddy’s Boy - part 9
> 
> Distraction - part 19


End file.
